After finding out our chosen site, we decided to visit The Collection as a member of the public to gain a firsthand understanding of the space. Whilst there, we explored the current ‘Past to Present’ exhibition and this inspired the beginnings of our ideas for possibly creating a piece focusing around the progression of time. A stand-out feature of this exhibition was the ‘Languages from the Past’ audio talk, which elaborated on different readings from Lincolnshire’s past. The use of headphones was a departure from the traditional museum experience. This ingenuity reminds us of the work of Janet Cardiff and inspired us towards the idea of incorporating audio and other sensory stimulants, moving our piece away from a purely visual field.
When exiting the exhibition, we noticed a faint whispering, only later to discover speakers integrated within the walls. We found this to be an interesting device to capture visitor’s attention without overpowering the rest of the exhibition.
The museum, however, was only half of our designated site so we ventured across to The Usher Gallery. This was an inspiring place with a number of contrasting exhibits; ranging from the classical statues of antiquity to a modern photographic interpretation of an African-American ‘Last Supper’.
‘The Last Supper’ by Faisal Abdu’Allah 2003
Incorporated in between these era’s, were representations of British arts featuring pastoral scenes. One particularly intriguing feature was the 1795 ‘Pineapple Dish’. The fact that something we consider as common and everyday as the pineapple was seen as exotic and important enough to have its own item of specific crockery, highlights how perspective can change over the passage of time.
L: ‘Pineapple Dish’ by William ‘Quaker’ Pegg 1795
The idea of time is something which was highlighted as the one constant throughout the Usher Gallery; almost every room featured some form of clock or timepiece. This triggered the idea of time as an abstract concept as opposed to something which we can attempt to define on the face of a clock. This led us to using the notion of time as a stimulus for our piece, focusing on the various perceptions of time such as: a historical epoch, something quantified by the use of watches and clocks, the aesthetics of both the inner and outer workings, and the way in which time can be used as a healer but equally recognized as a force of decay.
Authors: Chloe Doherty, James Barker, Shane Humberstone, Tabitha Hilton-Berry
You’ve raised a really interesting point Stephanie! Initially, we decided to explore the space with an open mind, trying not to dwell too much on the sites past; so it’s really quite inspiring how over 80 years later and we can still feel inspired by James Ward Ushers early fascinations. The fact that The Usher Gallery holds not only his own personal collection of both English and French watches alongside the longcase clocks created by his father gives us such a brilliant opportunity in terms of subject matter, as well as an admirable aesthetic to the site. This adds another layer of depth to a performance based on the concept of time, and will make our piece even more specific to our site that we could have imagined! In terms of the physicality of the clocks, we have taken into consideration an element of Lincolnshire contemporary culture, that of the steampunk. Steampunk costumes are commonly created out of scraps of metal but most importantly cogs. So, when thinking about costumes this may well come into play. It would also link nicely with the Skeleton Clock featured at The Usher Gallery as it was not only made close by in Spalding, but has its inner workings open for all to see!
Really interesting ideas you have started to explore here. You mention time and how there are alot of clocks, and this is because James Ward Usher who began the gallery and collection was the son of a watchmaker and collected clocks and watches himself. So time is important to the history of the site and its origins. Perhaps you could not only look at time as an abstract concept, but explore the physicality of the clocks themselves as they are such an important feature of the site. I’m sure lots of interesting physical performance ideas would come out of it!